How to Format an External Hard Drive
Open Computer Management., Select Disk Management., Right-click the drive you want to format., Select the File System., Click OK. You will be asked to confirm.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Open Computer Management.
Click on the Start button and right-click on Computer or My Computer.
Select Manage from the right-click menu.
Windows 8 Users can skip directly to the Disk Management utility by pressing the Windows and X keys on the keyboard.
This will open the Power Users menu.
Select Disk Management from this menu. -
Step 2: Select Disk Management.
This is located in the left frame, listed underneath Storage.
When you click Disk Management, your connected drives will be displayed in the center frame. , From the right-click menu, select Format.
Enter a name for the drive. , NTFS is the standard for Windows computers, and if you are only using the drive with Windows, you should pick this.
If you are planning on using the drive on both Windows and Mac, select exFAT.
Do not select “Perform a quick format” as it will not efficiently erase all the previous data. , After confirmation, your drive will begin formatting.
The length of time required depends on the size. -
Step 3: Right-click the drive you want to format.
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Step 4: Select the File System.
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Step 5: Click OK. You will be asked to confirm.
Detailed Guide
Click on the Start button and right-click on Computer or My Computer.
Select Manage from the right-click menu.
Windows 8 Users can skip directly to the Disk Management utility by pressing the Windows and X keys on the keyboard.
This will open the Power Users menu.
Select Disk Management from this menu.
This is located in the left frame, listed underneath Storage.
When you click Disk Management, your connected drives will be displayed in the center frame. , From the right-click menu, select Format.
Enter a name for the drive. , NTFS is the standard for Windows computers, and if you are only using the drive with Windows, you should pick this.
If you are planning on using the drive on both Windows and Mac, select exFAT.
Do not select “Perform a quick format” as it will not efficiently erase all the previous data. , After confirmation, your drive will begin formatting.
The length of time required depends on the size.
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Virginia Bennett
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